Reyam
by MattArreo
Summary: The Avatars have served this world for centuries. in a past life, thousands of years before Aang was born, Lived Avatar Reyam. This is his tale.
1. prologue

**disclaimer: I do not own Avatar nor its concepts or themes.**

* * *

 **prologue**

In his mansion far above the Cultural Market, hub of the four districts on Central Island, Old Avatar Huron lay in his bed, dying.

Down in the market, everything seemed normal. Nobody seemed aware of the historic event about to take place on the mountain above. All were oblivious to the colossal ramifications this occurrence would have on their small lives.

And so, trade continued as always. Red traders bargained for South Pole furs, white contractors argued over the cut of sales they owed a blue cargo-ship captain, city employed green workers cleaned the streets, children from all nationalities ran about everywhere, shrieking.

The general hubbub of the market could just be made out by Firelord Zoen standing on the second floor balcony of the Avatar's mansion. The regal Firelord stood motionless, staring down at the four quarters of Central Island, his ring clacking against the dark stone railing as he tapped his finger continuously, contemplating.

As usual when looking at the disorganized mesh of the cultural center of the world, he felt total disgust. Unusual, though, and altogether uncharacteristic of the Firelord, was the second emotion that happened to accompany his disgust at the moment- nervous anticipation.

Zoen heard a muffled slam through the room behind him, indicating the mansions main door being opened and then shut. The Firelord turned and walked back into the large sleeping chamber which held the dying Avatar.

As Zoen stepped back into the room, another man entered the room from the hallway. This Man, Ivor, was short and rather fat, with a long black braid trailing down his back. He was red faced and sweating profusely. _Probably from climbing the stairs_ , thought Zoen humorlessly.

Ivor was an influential member of the water tribe, and he was dressed the part. Blue and tan wolfshark leather jerkin, brown IceBison boots and blue teardrop pendant hanging from his forehead on a silk cord were just a few of the bare components that made up his ridicules suit.

Firelord Zeon thought he looked a fool, a look which fit the Firelord's general opinion of Ivor's overcompensating personality quite well.

...

Having just climbed the steps, Lord Ivor Swiftstrike, Secondary Water diplomat of the Water Tribe quarter, stopped to catch his breath, while unsuccessfully trying to bury the nervous fear burning in his gut.

As he felt the droplets of sweat trickle uncomfortably down his back, the chieftain was reminded of just how old and out of shape he had become. In his youth, no other member of the northern water tribe could match his skill at moose-elk hunting. Ivor liked to blame his condition on what he scornfully called "southern cuisine". He hoped his physical condition would not be too much of a hindrance to the implementation of his plans over the next few hours.

Ivor stepped into the Avatar's grand bedchamber and realized he was probably the last to arrive of those who had received the Avatar's summon. Counting himself, there were now six people in the room, each Nation represented by at least one of those present.

On the far right of the room, calmly sitting on a chest of drawers in a meditative position was nun Ayago, protector of the Shrine of Air and High Gale of the Council of the Four Winds. The petite nun's tanned head seemed as bald as ever, the blue arrow tattoos of the air nomads clearly visible. Ivor had never gotten over the strange appearance of a bald woman.

Walking in from the balcony, Ivor noticed Firelord Zeon, A rather self-important and aloof man in Ivor's opinion. As far as Ivor knew though, of the eight Firelords that ruled the Fire nation, Zeon was the least important or influential.

The last two people in the room were standing near the Avatar's bed muttering softly to each other. Both dressed in Earth nation green tunics, they seemed to be the only people in the room who were showing any hint of emotion fitting the reason for the summons. The older of the two seemed to be a man in his early forties, a short thick black beard squarely framing his prominent jaw. His eyebrows were furrowed in an expression of intense worry. Baron Doran was the governor of the Earth quarter on Central Island, ruling in the name of his liege- the Earth king.

The second man was much younger, barley even a man by water tribe standards. He was quite handsome, with the sturdy chiseled build of an Earthbender, an ability he inherited from his mother. Ivor had no doubt that many a girl had had her heart broken by this young LionOx.

Unlike the others in the room, Ivor did not instantly recognize this youth, only finally realizing who he was by the extreme sorrow and pain the boy openly displayed; Huiar, the Avatar's son.

The old Avatar lifted his bald head slightly as Ivor entered the room. The scalp was tattooed in the fashion of the air nomads, which was, after all, the nation to which he was born.

"Diplomat Ivor, you have made it, good….good…." said Huron weakly.

"This…" he said, sitting up a little in his bed, his voice strengthening a little as he spoke, "will be my last testimony, for I am dying."

The Avatar's son gave a chocked sob.

"None of that Huiar. I have lived a long and fruitful life. One of the… longest lived Avatars ever, if my research over the years proves correct. As of yesterday, I am one hundred and seventy two years old" said the Avatar, a small note of pride entering his voice.

"I have gathered… you all here, leaders of the four Nations on Central Island, so that you may carry my words back to the leaders of your nations… on your home continents." The Avater took a few slow deep breaths to steady himself.

"The world has benefited from a long peace, for over four hundred years the balance has been kept... From the time of Avatar Goyangi into the lifetime of Avatar Ishar, and all the way through my lifetime. Though there have been periods of stress, the world has never teetered out of… balance. My wish, is that it remain as such…Therefore, though I know you will now lack the guidance of a fully realized Avatar for some years to come, I hope the leaders of the world will act wisely… in order to maintain the peace."

Huron met the eyes of each and every one of the leaders gathered around hid bed. Those hard dark eyes held years of experience and vast mountains of knowledge.

"I have had an easy life, in comparison to some Avatars. For that I thanks you… You as the representatives of the four nations. In return, I will now reveal a bit of information… that will help you".

Leaning back onto his pillow, his voice beginning to soften so that those gathered around could barely hear what the Avatar said next.

"The next Avatar will be born of the water tribe, in accordance with the cycle of the elements. After years spent... meditating and walking the spirit world, I now know that she will be born to parents of the southern tribe… though they are residing in the north. The man is lame, and the woman is… she is thought to be barren. This… I know, and this I share. Find this new Avatar, train her, and guide her… Help her become what destiny has prescribed. Help her, so that she… so that she may continue this… this era of… unprecedented… peace..."

The old Avatar's eyes closed, and his final breath left his body. Outside the mansion a Lizardwolf howled mournfully- the Avatar's spirit animal.

Baron Doran pulled on a rope by the Avatar's bed. A moment later a servant arrived at the door of the chamber.

"Sound the horn", ordered Doran firmly "The Avatar has passed."

The servant looked stricken. He glanced at the unmoving form of the frail old Avatar, and then dashed away to do the baron's bidding. A moment later the deep mournful horn sounded from the top of the mansion, resounding all across Central Island, joining the eerie howl of the lonely spirit animal.

After the sound of the horn died away, there was a long moment of silence shared by the occupants of the bed chamber.

Through the open doorway to the massive balcony, Huiar could hear sounds of mourning from the market below, though something seemed a bit odd…

"Do you all hear that?" he asked, rushing out onto the balcony.

The sight that greeted him was alarming. The market was in flames. Stalls and wares burning, People were running for their lives, screaming, crying for help, yet it seemed none but a few lone airbenders were attempting to put out the flames.

"Isn't that a wonderful sight?"

Huiar turned to find Firelord Zeon standing beside him, just as six Red Guards stepped into the room, effectively blocking the door.

"What?!" demanded the boy, horrified at what he was hearing.

Instead of replying, the Firelord just looked down to the city proper.

Following his gaze, Huiar noticed something he hadn't before. A group of Red Guards were fanning the flames in the market using firebending. A second group of firebenders was actually attacking those who were trying to put out the flames. Some of the airbenders who Huiar had noticed before lay charred and unmoving. The High Gale, who had just joined Zeon and Huiar on the porch, along with Doron and Ivor, saw this and let out a cry of dispair.

"I am claiming Central Island in the name of the Fire Nation" said the Firelord triumphantly.

"What?! You can't! Didn't you listen to anything my father just said?" said the boy.

The Firelord gave a genuine bark of amusement.

"All I know _, boy_ , is that the Avatar is dead, and it will be years before the world will have to deal with the next one."

Ivor's reaction surprised everyone.

The water diplomat began to laugh uncontrollably.

"Is that why three fire Navy ships were headed this way?" he asked incredulously.

The Firelord frowned.

"Well, I'm pleased to tell you that my ships sunk them last night. My fleet that carries my army from the north. They will be here at sundown. You have till then to clear out." Ivor said his last piece with a very self-satisfied and smug look on his face.

Huiar looked disbelievingly between the Firelord and the Diplomat.

"Not two minutes is he gone, and you are already ruining everything he hoped to preserve!" shouted Huiar.

The leaders ignored him.

"You fool, Ivor" said Zeon. "We have known about your plan all along, you're the one who gave us the idea to begin with. For the last six months my allies and I have been sneaking Fire nation soldiers in to Central Island as common folk."

At this Ivor finally looked surprised. "Allies?"

Zeon nodded to Doron.

"Uncle? You knew about this?" Huiar was dumbfounded as his uncle Doron nodded.

"Why then? Why didn't you tell father? He could have stopped this! Why uncle, why?" tears started streaming down Huiar's youthful face.

"Your father was too old boy." Doron sighed, looking haggard.

"When I first uncovered Ivor's plots, I brought them before my king. The Earth king was furious. 'How dare the Water tribe try and set up a land base so close to the equator?' he demanded. 'The Water tribe belongs in the north and south poles, and no more'." Everyone on the porch was listening intently to the Baron's tale.

"At first, the king was prepared to try and defeat the Water tribe on his own, but he quickly realized that would not be possible. We didn't have the ocean power to control an Island like Central Island on our own. Even if we did win initially, there would be nothing to stop the Water tribe from coming back again with more troops, and they would be able to rearm faster than we would."

"Therefore the King decided to share the information with Firelord Zeon, knowing that the Fire Nation's battle ships would even the playing field against the Water tribe. The plan was that the Fire Nation and the Earth nation would share control of Central Island, so the fact that the Firelord just claimed it solely for the Fire nation is news to me."

Zeon just shrugged.

"Plans change Doron, It's pointless to share the Island when we don't have too. As you said yourself, you just don't have the ocean power control Central Island."

He motioned for his Red Guards.

"Take them" commanded Zeon.

Before anyone could do anything, Nun Ayago, who had remained silent, trying to make head and tail of what was happening, sent a massive blast of wind down at the floor, shooting herself high up into the air and away. The blast of air knocked everyone else off their feet. Surprisingly the first to recover was Ivor, who, from within his robes withdrew a dirk with a nasty looking sharp edge. He then rushed at the Firelord, intending to impale the knife deep in the bastard's heart.

The Firelord remained unfazed, and as the Diplomat closed with him, Zeon stepped forward, his left hand snaking out, and grabbed Ivor's right, knife wielding, hand by the wrist. In one swift motion, using the fat man's momentum to his advantage, Zeon grabbed the front of Ivor's Tunic with his free hand and flipped him over the railing. The Water diplomat let out a yell which was cut off abruptly by a nauseating squelch two stories below.

Meanwhile the Red Guards managed to subdue the two earth benders.

"This means war Zeon. Don't do this!" pleaded Doron.

Zeon shook his head.

"It is done, Doron. Take them".

As the Firelord and his men left the mansion, Zeon made two quick punches in the air. With each motion he let his chi flow, bending two fire blasts which began hungrily devouring the home of the recently deceased Avatar.

* * *

 **I welcome any and all reviews.**


	2. Chapter 1

**I do not own Avatar nor its concepts or themes**

* * *

 **Chapter one**

Reyam sat up on his sleeping pallet. The sun had just began to rise, its yellow rays penetrating the thin canvas walls of Reyam's small tent.

Stretching his arms he picked up a dark red ribbon that lay on the floor, and used it to tie his shoulder length black hair up in a high ponytail. Getting up Reyam stepped over to the small chest that held his few pieces of clothing. He absently grabbed a light brown tunic, yawning as he pulled it on. Walking back over to his cot, he neatly arranged the light woolen blanket, _Incase mother decides to have a peek_ he thought to himself.

That done, Reyam left the tent, and was greeted by the cold crisp air of late winter. In the southern part of the Earth kingdom the first warm drafts of spring could probably already be felt, but this far north, spring was still a distant dream. Snow still covered most of the ground, except where the circus members had painstakingly cleared paths over the last few days since pitching their camp here. Maran had made a wise financial choice to get the circus moving north _before_ spring set in, in order to get an edge on the other traveling performers. These north western earths' men had a hard winter, and were all but begging to throw their coin at Maran's feet, hungry for entertainment. The circus performers were more than happy to oblige. The night before had been very successful, judging solely by the number of people who had come.

Noticing that a new layer of frost had set in covering the cleared paths, Reyam frowned. Taking a deep breath of frigid air in through his mouth, he let in warm in his belly using firebending. Allowing his chi to fuse with the air, warming it, Reyam then let the hot breath out slowly through his nose. The effect was instantaneous. All around him the frost began to melt. Continuing this as he strode along the paths, Reyam noticed someone standing near the clay water barrels with a small icepick, looking thoroughly frustrated. As he got closer, Reyam recognized Toanna, one of the waterbender performers.

Toanna was about Reyam's age, somewhere in the middle of her second decade. She had short blond hair and a smattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks. Reyam assumed that most boys would consider her to be cute, but he had trouble looking at her as anything other than a childhood friend.

"Is everything alright?" asked Reyam, as he reached the water barrels.

"No!" said Toanna, through gritted teeth, "everything is not 'Alright'!" she gave an exasperated groan and angrily threw the icepick into a nearby pile of snow.

"The stupid water barrels froze over last night. I have been trying now for the last twenty minutes to get enough water for me to shower." Toanna said, pointing to a bucket holding barely a single centimeter of water.

"Uh… I don't want to point out the obvious, but I don't think your efforts are yielding much of a profit" said Reyam, trying in vain to conceal the wolfish grin that sprang onto his face as he said that.

"Argh!" yelled Toanna, bending the little bit of water she had managed to collect, and splashing it in Reyam's surprised face.

Toanna started laughing hysterically. "That seemed to wipe the grin off your face pretty quickly!" she said, giggling.

"Yeah, well… great" said Reyam lamely, trying to retain what little pride he had left. Quickly deciding to change the subject he said "why didn't you just bend the ice back into water?"

Toanna stopped giggling at that. "Well, I tried" she said, "but it's not so easy. I mean, freezing water I can do, no problem, but I still haven't managed the reverse technique, though Pikka has been trying to help me get it"

Pikka was the oldest of the waterbenders in the circus. He used to be a warrior in the Northern Water tribe army, but he was let go due to a severe injury. He joined the circus a year later, after it had mostly healed, though he claimed his waterbending never returned to what it once was.

"Well, In order to spare the whole camp your unwashed scent until you _do_ manage to get a hang of the technique, why don't I melt the water for you now?"

Toanna brightened "Yes please!" she said, pointing to the large clay water barrel.

Reyam brought his hands up to his chest, elbows out, fist pressed against palm, and took a deep breath. He then lashed out, punching in the direction of the barrel. From his fist shot a large fireball, instantly melting the ice in the barrel.

This was precisely the reason the circus used clay barrels instead of wooden ones: so that the firebenders could heat the water this way without fear of burning up the barrel.

Toanna happily streamed a large snake of water from the barrel and into her bucket, using water bending. She also bended the water out of Reyam's hair and tunic, leaving them nice and dry, though Reyam didn't feel very grateful for that, seeing as it was her fault he was wet to begin with.

"Thanks a lot ReyRey!" she said, happily striding off with the bucket full of steaming water towards the wooden structure the women used for showering.

"Don't call me that!" Reyam yelled after her, brandishing his fist angrily.

...

"Ugh" he muttered to himself, shaking his head. "Girls!"

"Yeah, tell me about it"

Reyam jumped, spinning around and going right into a fighter stance.

"A little jumpy this morning, aren't we Reyam?" said Kai, sitting on one of the barrels and twirling one of his arrows between his fingers.

"Oh, it's just you Kai" said Reyam, relaxing.

Kai was Reyam's closest friend in the world. Ever since they were young, when six year old Kai had wondered into the circus alone, having been the only one in his village to have survived a Water tribe raid, they were like brothers to each other.

The fact of the matter was that almost all the performers in "The White Lotus Circus" had somehow been effected by the war and left stranded by the world. Reyam's own father had been executed for refusing to join the Northern Fleet.

"What do you mean 'just Kai'? Hey, I'm plenty dangerous even if I can't do all your fancy fireworks." Kai said in mock offence.

"I don't doubt that. I know firsthand how skilled you are with that bow of yours" said Reyam, smirking sarcastically, looking down at his left arm meaningfully.

Kai rolled his eyes in annoyance. "It was one time! Can't you let anything go? I have gotten much better since then, honest. Haven't impaled anyone by accident in ages!"

In truth, Reyam knew just how skilled Kai had become with his bow. He doubted he would ever encounter another archer as skilled as Kai.

Shrugging, Reyam hopped up on to a second barrel. "Hear anything new last night?" he asked.

Reyam and Kai had a fondness for listening to all the gossip the villagers told while attending the circus. If there was one thing all villagers around the world seemed to have in common, it was their love for sharing rumors of the outside world. Early on Reyam and Kai had made a habit of listening to as many rumors as possible, and filling each other in the next day. They both new that at best these rumors were distorted truths (at worst outright lies), but they figured the more widespread a rumor, the more likely it was to hold a grain of truth.

Kai scoffed. "In a secluded place like this? We are probably the first travelers they have seen in months! They were just circulating all the usual nonsense, mostly speculation about the Avatar." He shook his head disappointedly. "Did you hear anything?"

"Actually, I did" said Reyam, who was rewarded with a surprised look from Kai. "Don't get me wrong, I also heard all the usual mumbo jumbo about the Avatar and such, but there was one piece of new information I think you will like."

He paused dramatically before saying: "The Council of the Four Winds is gathering in the western Air temple."

Kai snorted dismissively "That's ridiculous! Even if it happened to be true, why would some northern earth tribesmen know about such a thing? There is nothing else lending any credit-"

"Wait! Just hear me out a second" cut in Reyam.

"You're absolutely right, this village is too far north to have gotten any travelers during winter. But that doesn't mean they didn't get any visitors at all."

Comprehension dawned on Kai. "The northern air temple" he whispered.

"Exactly! The northern air temple is less than a day's ride from here. There must be some form of contact, if not with the monks then at least with the Air villagers at the foot of the mountain."

"Alright" conceded Kai, "I'll admit this rumor has more merit to it then I believed at first, but that still doesn't mean we should take it as truth."

Reyam smiled, "When do we ever?" he asked rhetorically.

Glancing up at the sun, Reyam's heart dropped. "Damn, damn, damn!" he swore, jumping down from the barrel. "I'm late! Grandfather isn't going to be pleased with me at all!" dashing off he called a goodbye to Kai, who remained sitting, mulling over what Reyam had just told him.

...

A few minutes later Reyam made it to the designated training ground. Meditating in the center of the field was an old man in deep red robes. His long white hair and a short pointed beard made him look quite intimidating, a trait many found only too true about the man himself.

"Grandfather Zhuirro" said Reyam breathlessly, "I'm sorry that I am-"

"Late?" interjected Zhuirro forcefully, eye popping open to reveal an intense stare.

"Tell me boy, how many years have I been training you?" he asked.

"Around nine" mumbled Reyam, not sure where this was going.

"Speak up boy! And look at me when I am talking to you." Zhuirro's stern gaze was unrelenting.

Reyam stared his grandfather right back in the eyes defiantly. "Nine years, master grandfather." He said confidently, knowing that showing more weakness would only further anger his grandfather.

Zhuirro frowned pensively as he continued to assess the boy before him. Finally, standing up, he said "We are done training boy. Come to my tent tonight after dark, and we will talk." With that, the master firebender walked off the field.

Reyam recovered from his shock just in time to blurt out "is this because I was late?", but he got no answer, for his grandfather had already disappeared behind a group of tents.

Hot frustration boiled up from deep within himself. "Argh!" he yelled, punching the air and letting out a slew of fireballs which dissipated in the cold late morning air. Just for being a little late?! His grandfather was the only one who still seemed to treat Reyam like a child, the only one who still called him _boy_. Reyam tried to ignore it, but now it seemed as if grandfather was going to discipline him like a child too! Reyam let out another frustrated yell along with some additional angry firebending, trying to calm himself down.

"Reyam relax!" came the command from behind.

Spinning around, Reyam was startled to find Ayana sitting high up in a leafless tree.

Immediately Reyam's anger was replaced with burning hot embarrassment, and he blushed a deep red. Ayana was another one of the circus members who were Reyam's age. She happened to be an airbender, which was part of the reason she was such a talented acrobat. She had long brown hair and deep green eyes which seemed to ensnare Reyam every time they spoke.

Needless to say, Reyam was hopelessly in love with Ayana. The fact that she had just witnessed Reyam's temper tantrum made him want to bury himself.

"A…Ayana, Hi. I…I didn't see you there" stammered Reyam.

 _If Kai was here he would be pissing with laughter_ thought Reyam dejectedly.

Jumping down from the tree, and using airbending to slow her fall, Ayana smiled, causing Reyam's heart to skip a beat or six.

Walking over to him, she said "I don't think master Zhuirro left because you were late".

"Oh… you saw tha- what?" asked Reyam, cutting himself off and forgetting to be embarrassed.

"Well, it's just that your grandfather didn't start his own routine like he usually does when a student is late. In fact, as soon as he showed up at the field he sat down and started meditating. I think he didn't mean to have a training session today to begin with."

Ayana tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as Reyam absorbed what she just told him.

"Well… then I guess I should…probably get going…" said Reyam, his embarrassment returning.

"I guess… unless you still want to do some training… I wouldn't mind sparring for a bit" she said. Reyam was so shocked to hear uncertainty in her voice that he accepted before he realized what he was doing.

"Great!" she said brightly, "let's begin!"

Ayana sent a blast of air right at the unprepared Reyam who was knocked a full six feet backwards onto his butt. "Oh!" she said apologetically "were you not ready for that?"

"No, no that was fine" replied Reyam, a mischievous glint in his eye. Instead of getting up, he quickly spun on his hands, kicking his feet out and creating a wave of fire that Ayana barely managed to slice through with a ribbon of air.

"Hey!" she cried.

Grinning as he jumped back onto his feet Reyam said " _now_ let's begin!"

...

A few hours later Reyam sat with his mother and younger sister around one of the cooking fires, eating beef stew. The sun was just beginning to set over the low hills to the west.

"Are you sure grandfather didn't make any mention of why he wants you to go to his tent tonight?" asked his mother for the third time.

"No mother, I'm certain." Reyam rolled his eyes at his sister Nyata, who shrugged.

"He probably just wants to reprimand you for being late. It's no big deal." She said.

"I don't know" said Reyam, "I just don't think that's the reason." He thought back to what Ayana had said _maybe she is wrong? Maybe grandfather really is going to reprimand me?_ But Reyam didn't think so… something about what Ayana said just felt…right. _There is something else going on here… something far more concerning than a simple punishment_ he thought.

"Well whatever it is, you better get going" said his mother, setting down her empty bowl "otherwise you're going to be late to this as well."

"You're right" said Reyam, setting down his bowl and getting up from the log he was sitting on. "I don't know what time I will finish by grandfather, so I'll see you tomorrow" he said, kissing his mother goodnight.

As he turned to leave, his mother called out to him "Reyam". He turned back "yeah?"

"I just want you to know I'm proud of you, and your father is too". She often spoke of his dad like that, as if he were still here, with them.

"I know mother, thanks".

As he walked away from the campfire Reyam felt as if something were amiss, as if someone were calling for him from really far away, and yet really near…

Reyam jumped around, right into fighter stance, just as he had when Kai snuck up on him earlier in the morning.

Nothing was there. Reyam chided himself for jumping at ghosts, though if he were truthful with himself, he was sure someone had been right behind him.

Thoroughly spooked, Reyam made it to his grandfather's large tent. He took one calming breath before he moved aside the entrance flap and walked in.

Reyam got one quick look at his grandfather, throat slashed, blood everywhere, before something hit him hard in the back of the head, causing everything to go dark.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Reyam felt as if he were floating. Around him, eternal blackness seemed to stretch on forever. Feeling a presence, Reyam squinted ahead, trying to get a better look. Out of the gloom a boy appeared. This boy seemed to be younger than Reyam, maybe nine or ten years of age. He was dressed in a standard brownish green earthbender's uniform.

Behind the boy something moved. Glancing passed him, Reyam noticed a little baby girl. She was swathed in a blue Water tribe blanket, its folds clutched tightly in her little fingers.

Once again, Reyam's attention was drawn further into the darkness. Reyam was startled, when, seemingly out of nowhere, stepped an old man. The man was clearly an Air nomad, judging by his orange and tan monk's attire and the blue arrow tattoos that adorned his bald head.

This man fixed Reyam with hard dark eyes that seemed to hold years of experience and vast mountains of knowledge.

"Wake up Reyam" he said, his voice calm and stern.

"What?" asked Reyam, confused by this strange vision.

"Wake up" he repeated, the earthbender boy joining in. "Wake up."

"Wake up Reyam." Their voices seemed to be getting louder. Between them, the baby began to wail.

"Wake up!"

Reyam's eyes popped open just as his knees hit the ground hard. With a rush, everything came back to him; Night. Tent. Blood.

 _Grandfather!_

Reyam's fighting instincts kicked in, the thousands of hours he spent drilling with his grandfather paying off. He flung himself to the left, and rapidly rolled into a crouch. Reyam managed to catch a glimpse of two hooded figures on the far side of the tent just as a powerful blast of air hit him from behind, throwing him into the canvas wall, collapsing the whole structure around them. Quickly trying to disengage from the wreckage, Reyam used firebending to burn a hole in the canvas that entangled him. He then scrambled out of the fallen pavilion, regaining his feet, just as three dark figures cut through the canvas using small daggers. Not wanting to give them time to recover, Reyam seized the advantage and, jumping forward, gave a few quick jabs at the air. Fireballs exploded from his fists at every jab, aimed directly at the assailants.

Two of the figures avoided the blasts, their graceful leaps were fueled by airbending which allowed them speed and height no regular person could have hoped achieved. The fireballs shot passed them and were extinguished by the snow covered ground.

The third figure made the mistake of trying to catch the fire directed at him in a pocket of air. As the fireball reached him, the airbender made a few quick arm motions, bending a cushion of air in front of his chest. Sadly for him, he sorely misjudged the force of the fireball. It cut right through the compressed air and hit the bender right it the chest, the immense force throwing him off his feet and back into the wreckage of the tent, which immediately caught fire.

Reyam didn't have a moment to feel relieved. One of the other benders jumped in the air and, swiping both his feet in a swift double kick, sent two blades of air spinning towards Reyam. Quickly, Reyam jumped, spinning horizontally, he managed to pass between the two blasts. Turning his defensive leap into an offensive move, Reyam lashed out with his feet, sending a huge whip of fire crashing down on the airbender. As the fire descended upon him, the airbender wedged his hands together and parted the fire around him, causing it to hit the tents behind him, igniting them instantly.

 _I need help!_ Thought Reyam desperately, as he barely managed to dodge another air blast thrown by the second airbender. _Why hasn't anyone noticed what's going on?_ Over the sound of the blood rushing in his ears, Reyam could just make out cries of alarm from the other side of camp.

Luckily for Reyam it seemed the third airbender was down for good, since he was hard pressed to hold off just two. They were trading air blasts for fire blasts, dodging when necessary, retaliating when they saw an opening. Around them the tents blazed. Somewhere in the wreckage of his tent, Zhuirro's body was burning.

Reyam knew he wouldn't be able to hold out against the two airbenders for much longer. He was starting to feel anxious, and the airbenders could tell. One of the airbenders leapt forward, jumping over a smoldering tent, kicking out a blast of wind from his foot. Reyam spun to dodge it, but was instead hit by a second blast, sent by the second airbender who had circled around to Reyam's left. Reyam was thrown backwards, but managed to land on his feet, and, using the momentum of the blast, he summersaulted backwards, keeping both enemy benders in front of himself.

 _This is really not good!_

…

On a small hill overlooking the circus's campsite, five men stood watching the general chaos play out in camp below. On one edge of the camp, and intense battle between a firebender and two airbenders was taking place. On the other side a small skirmish was going on, the members of the circus defending their camp from a large group of earthbending bandits who were attempting a raid.

"I hope this works, YaGachi" said one of the men, turning towards the leader of the group.

"We need conformation before we put our necks on the line, Wyato" Answered the one named YaGachi. "I won't have our plans spoiled because of one old firebender's claim."

All five men looked to be in their prime, young and fit. Their shaven heads and arrow tattoos marked them as monks of the Air nomads. Each of them carried a wooden staff known as a glider.

"But to use rogue benders? Are you sure that was a wise choice?" asked a second monk, Fyagi.

"It is worth the risk, for if all goes as planned tonight, the Air nation will have a great advantage when we finally join the war!" said YaGachi, a fire in his eyes. "All we need is a little more patience."

…

The fire in the camp was spreading quickly from tent to tent, the heat quickly melting the snow all around. Smoke and ash laying thick in the air, making it hard to breath.

Reyam was sweating through his tunic, his concentration beginning to falter as he became more and more exhausted. He jumped back as a blast of air smashed the ground where he had been moments before, then retaliated with a ball of fire. The smoke from the burning tents was making it hard for Reyam to see.

Reyam was sporting a dozen small cuts and scrapes, which combined with his exhaustion were making his reactions slower than before.

Finally a blast from his left connected, and threw him into the smoldering wreckage of a tent. Reyam was too tired to move, even as he saw both airbenders advance on him, daggers in hand, ready to finish him off.

Suddenly there was a faint whistle, and an arrow seemed to sprout from the shorter airbender's throat, the force of it throwing him back.

 _Kai!_ Thought Reyam, relief blossomed in the pit of his stomach, just as the last airbender sent a powerful gust of air blasting off in the direction from which the arrow came. There was a loud crash, and Reyam could hear Kai screaming in pain.

The relief Reyam had felt briefly withered and died, and in its place a great terrifying fury suddenly erupted.

 _They destroyed my camp!_

His muscles screamed as he rose to his feet.

 _They hurt my friend!_

Reyam felt a flood of new energy course through his body, reinvigorating him.

 _They murdered my Grandfather!_

His eyes began to glow.

…

"That's it!" YaGachi said triumphantly, "we've got him!"

The monks opened their gliders, two long panels on the sides of each staff clicked open, unfurling brown fanlike wings. The same process happened at the base of the staff, where a much smaller brown tail clicked open.

All five monks held their gliders behind them and leapt into the air, using a combination of natural air currents and airbending to help them stay airborne. Gaining altitude, they began making their way back to the air temple.

…

Reyam felt incredible. So much power, energy coursing through his body, it was ecstasy like he had never felt before. But blanketing all of that was the violent storm of fury that threatened to overwhelm him. The attackers needed to pay.

Stepping into a sequence of moves that were completely alien to him, yet somehow seemed vaguely familiar, Reyam began bending the air. In his anger he didn't care how, he just was.

Huge gales of wind began spiraling away from him, clearing a wide circle around him of ashes, snow and bodies.

Reyam noticed the last living airbender. He had recovered a glider from wherever he had left it, and began to fly away. Reyam would not have it. Quickly swinging his arms in a flowing fashion, he bended the snow below the escaping bender back into water, and created a massive tentacle extending from the ground up about six meters to catch the bender by the ankle. Then, with a mighty pull on the flow, Reyam had the massive tentacle throw the airbender to the ground at his feet. The airbender hit hard, screaming from pain and fear.

"P…please don't!" he cried, tears streaming down his face as Reyam stomped the ground, bending small earthen shackles to rise out of the ground and bind the airbender to the floor.

"I didn't know! I had no idea it was you they were after! Please my lord!" The man's pleading was having no effect on Reyam.

Reyam shook his head, his glowing eyes showing no pity. The face of judgment. Drawing his arm back, gathering his energy… he froze.

In the air before him appeared the form of the old Air nomad from his vision. But this form didn't look as solid as the man in the vision, it was more… translucent… almost like a ghost.

"Don't do this Reyam," he said, shaking his head sadly. "You will only live to regret it."

"You may have to kill in the future, but never do it out of anger."

The image began to fade, as quickly as it appeared, the voice becoming a distant echo. "This council I offer you freely, Avatar Reyam."

Those last word's echoed in Reyam's head.

 _Avatar Reyam… Avatar?_

Everything suddenly became clear to Reyam. His eye's ceased to glow, his anger dissipated as quickly as it had appeared and the forceful gales of wind died along with it.

Reyam collapsed, too tired to move. As he began to slip out of consciousness, his mind kept repeating the last two words the old man had said to him;

 _Avatar Reyam…_


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar nor its themes or** concepts.

* * *

Chapter Three

The monks made it back to the temple just as the sun began to rise over the mountains to the east.

The northern air temple was a magnificent structure. It rose from the peak of a mountain like a completely natural formation. The green tiled roofs blended majestically with the pearly white walls and large stone courtyards. The soaring towers had massive windows set it them, allowing the air to flow freely through the temple's vast halls.

The only way to access the temple, other than flying, was via a small steep path that let up the side of a cliff to the temple plateau.

The whole structure was covered in a white coat of freshly fallen fluffy snow. As the five monks reached the temple, YaGachi snapped his glider closed. Freefalling towards the courtyard beneath him, he slowed himself with airbending, blowing up a cloud of snow as he landed. Behind him the other four monks did likewise.

YaGachi entered the temple proper, and was met by a young student, about seventeen years of age. The student fell in beside YaGachi as they walked further into the temple.

"Has monk Eyumo arrived yet?" asked YaGachi, not breaking his stride.

"Yes Elder YaGachi, he arrived late last night" replied the boy.

"Excellent, have him sent up to my rooms immediately."

With a bow, the student ran off to carry out the command.

Not turning around, YaGachi said to the four other monks "you all know what to do." They nodded, each turning down a different corridor, intent on carrying out their respective tasks.

YaGachi made straight for his rooms, not stopping even to acknowledge the greetings of the monks and acolytes he passed. The monks of the northern air temple were early risers, for dawn was the most spiritual time of day.

The apartment was a two room affair built like a figure eight.

The first was an oval sitting room, furnished with three low round stone stools and a small circular table. There was also a woolen rug, dyed a simple brown. The monks were known to be frugal.

The second, inner room was the small sleeping chamber. A sleeping pallet and lamp were all that it held. Unlike the bigger outer room, the sleeping chamber didn't have a single window. When the heavy wool curtain was drawn between the two rooms, the inner room became almost completely sound proof. YaGachi found that it was the perfect place to meditate.

Entering his rooms, YaGachi seemed to relax for a moment. He lay down his glider and sat down on one of the stools. Leaning over he washed his hands in the wooden washbasin that stood on the table. He then assumed a meditative position, and closing his eyes he let his concentration wander.

It wasn't too long before there was a light tap on the door, and in walked a dark skinned monk. He was lean and rather short, yet he carried himself with a dignified air. He had hard dark eyes that softened as he closed the door behind him.

"Eyumo, brother" said YaGachi. Rising, he embraced Eyumo warmly. "Please sit, we don't have much time" he said, resuming his seat. The dark monk took the stool across from YaGachi.

"Is it true? Have we found him?" asked Eyumo with careful anticipation.

YaGachi nodded. "It is, I saw him enter the Avatar state myself."

Eyumo leaned back, relieved. "Who would have thought" he muttered to himself. "A firebender. I wonder what we missed. Most of the world is still looking expectantly at the water nation…"

YaGachi shook his head. "It's irrelevant. Fact of the matter is we have a fifteen year-old firebending Avatar at our doorstep _who needs to learn airbending!"_ YaGachi's elation seemed palpable, "This is exactly the sort of opportunity we have been waiting for."

Eyumo was a little more reserved. "Do you think the Abbot will understand what happened?" he asked.

YaGachi shook his head. "I don't see why he would suspect. Regardless, even if he does discover what we have done, he can't do anything about it, he would be painting himself as a deceiver!"

"I guess you're probably right…" said Eyumo his tone revealing a thread of skepticism, causing YaGachi to frown.

"We can continue this later" YaGachi said impatiently. "I have called a meeting of the elders, but before I continue with our plans I need to be sure- did you find them?" YaGachi looked expectantly at Eyumo.

"Most of them, though I don't know how many will come." Said Eyumo

YaGachi nodded, dissatisfaction entering his gut. "It better be enough" he said.

"I think it will" said Eyumo.

They rose to their feet. "I must be going. See me after the meeting and we will discuss this further" said YaGachi, his tone becoming more official.

"Yes Elder YaGachi" replied Eyumo, his tone too, became colder.

As they were about to part in the corridor outside YaGachi's rooms, Eyumo lay a hand on the back of YaGachi's shoulder

"Good luck brother" he whispered.

Not turning around, YaGachi nodded, and then continued walking towards the Council chambers, where many things were about to be decided.

…

It was dark out when Reyam finally awoke.

The first thing he noticed was that he was lying in a bed. A real, solid wooden bed, complete with a feather mattress and pillow. Living in the circus, constantly traveling, these were luxuries Reyam had never experienced.

The second thing he noticed was the room. It was large and well furnished. A small tapestry hung from one wall depicting a young man going through an earthbending routine.

Next to the tapestry two solid looking oak chairs were set, one of which was occupied by Reyam's mother. Her head was resting on her chest, eyes closed, in an uneasy sleep.

Sitting up, Reyam felt a tug. He looked down and realized that his chest was wrapped in a bandage, limiting his movement. He sighed, and lay back down, starring at the ceiling.

He must have made some sort of noise, for his mother woke up. When she saw that her son was awake, her eyes filled with tears, and she threw herself at him, embracing him tightly.

"I thought I had lost you" she sobbed into his shoulder.

"Its ok mother, everything is fine" Reyam said, patting her back and trying to suppress a grunt of pain as his wounded chest was squeezed.

"Actually," said a new voice from the direction of the doorway, "everything is not fine, and you have just seriously complicated things, young Avatar."

Reyam looked over to find his uncle Maran, master of the "White Lotus" circus, with a stern expression on his face. Behind him stood Kai, looking totally unharmed, and relieved to see Reyam awake again.

Still having trouble with what was going on, Reyam asked "how long was I out for?"

"A whole day" said Kai, stepping past Maran and into the room. "The mayor of the town was happy enough to let us bring you here, to his house, once he realized who you… are…" Kai finished awkwardly.

 _And who am I?_ Reyam asked himself. _Aren't I the same person I was three days ago?_ He thought. Truth be told though, he knew that he wasn't. Something profound had changed, and not just with the realization that he was… different.

Shoving those thoughts aside for the time being, Reyam asked the question he really wanted an answer for.

"Uncle, did you know?" He demanded.

Reyam's mother, gave him a disapproving look, due to the disrespectful and frank tone. To her credit though, she kept her rebuke silent. The time for her to openly discipline her son was over.

Maran seemed unfazed by the question. Instead of answering, he turned to Reyam's mother.

"Pama, do you mind giving us a few minutes?" He asked his sister in-law.

For a second it seemed as if she was about to refuse, but then, kissing her son one more time on the forehead, she rose.

"I'll be outside then" she said.

When she was gone Maran turned to Kai.

"Go stand watch outside the door, don't let anyone in" he said. Immediately Kai did as the circus master ordered, closing the door behind him.

Now that they were alone in the room, Maran relaxed. Sighing, he sat in one of the chairs.

"Did I know? Know what Reyam? That you are the Avatar? That your grandfather would be killed by airbenders? That we would be attacked by an earthbender raid?" Maran noticed the look of shock and confusion on Reyam's face at the last piece of information.

"I see that you don't even know what to ask. How about this; I am still in the dark about certain things that happened last night at camp, as I believe you are too. Why don't we each tell the other what we know, and together we will try to work out the whole story. Does that sound okay to you?"

Reyam nodded "Yeah that sounds good. I'll go first."

And so Reyam launched into a detailed account of what had happened to him. He didn't start from the point where he walked into Zhuirro's tent, but from the strange way his grandfather had behaved during their scheduled training session.

Reyam also left out the part about his vision, and the way the old man had reappeared to him and stopped him from killing the last airbender. Those things seemed… private. Reyam wasn't even so sure what the vision was exactly, and till he found out, he would keep it to himself.

When he finished his recount of events, all the way up to his blacking out after battle, Maran leaned forward, nodding.

"Hmm... That clears up some of it, yet opens up some new questions. I'll explain what I mean in a minute, but first let me fill you in on what I know."

"A few months ago, while the circus was preparing to sail from the Fire nation to the earth nation, your grandfather approached me. Now as I'm sure you know, unlike your father, I never had a very good relationship with my father in law, so I was surprised when he came to visit me in my tent one night.

…

"We need to talk." Said Zhuirro, standing rigidly at the entrance Maran's large tent.

Maran was surprised, though also cautious. The only other time Zhuirro had come to find him had been on the night before Maran's wedding, almost twenty years earlier. Zhuirro had threatened Maran then, telling him that if he discovered that his daughter was being mistreated, Maran would not live out the day. It was not a fond memory.

"Please father, come in" said Maran, hurriedly drawing up two chairs.

"How may I help you?" Maran asked when they were seated.

Zhuirro was silent for a moment, sitting sternly on the wooden folding chair, before answering. "Pama tells me that you are planning on moving the circus to Omashu when spring sets in" he said.

Maran shook his head slightly. "Not exactly. I plan on sailing for Omashu, but I want to do it before spring, that way I get a head start on the other traveling performers. Why do you ask?"

Zhuirro set his hard gaze directly on Maran. "I need you to change course. Instead of sailing to Omashu, we need to go to Taku, and from there continue north."

Maran didn't dismiss the notion out of hand, instead, he thought about it, drumming his fingers continuously on the wooden armrest.

He muttered to himself. "Taku… well financially speaking, it might be worth it… though there is much greater risk going up that far north, especially in the full swing of winter… and yet there is a much greater population up in that area…I guess it wouldn't be such a bad Idea…but… why?"

Before answering, Zhuirro got up swiftly and closed the entrance flap of Maran's tent. He then focused for a moment, motioning for Maran to be silent. When the firebending master was sure that there were no prying ears around, he walked back to his chair and sat.

Whispering, so that Maran had to lean closer to hear, Zhuirro said "I need you to swear that you will never speak of what I am about to tell you." He looked expectantly at Maran.

Intrigued, Maran said "I swear it by all I hold dear." Satisfied, Zhuirro leaned back. "Tell me Maran, what do you know of the Avatar?"

"The Avatar?" now Maran was confused.

"What do I know about the Avatar… well mostly what everyone knows. The Avatar is the only person who can bend all four elements, he is said to be the protector of peace and the bridge between our world and the spirit world. Uh… what else… oh the cycle. When an Avatar dies the Avatar spirit does not die with him, but is reborn in the next nation of the cycle; Fire, Air, Water, Earth. Yet I fail to see how this is relevant."

"You will understand in a moment, please continue" Zhuirro said, gesturing with his hand.

"Well… the last known Avatar was Avatar Huran, but he died nearly thirty years ago… he was an Air nomad, so in accordance with the cycle the next Avatar should have been born into the Water nation, only he wasn't, or at least he has never revealed himself… some say the Avatar is gone for good… others think that he is hiding, afraid of the war. Still more think that the Water tribe has him in captivity, preventing him from ending the war."

Maran shrugged "When you work in a traveling circus, you hear a lot of rumors…"

"And what do you think happened to the Avatar?" asked Zhuirro.

"Me?" said Maran "I think it's irrelevant. The Avatar is where the Avatar is. Makes no difference to me."

Zhuirro shook his head wryly. "You are about to find out just how wrong you are." Taking a deep breath Zhuirro launched into an explanation.

"You are correct as far as the next Avatar being born to the Water tribe. It took me years, but finally I managed to locate the Avatar."

Maran was completely taken aback by that.

"What?" he said, shocked. "I mean, Yenna told me you were trained by the Fire Sages, and that you spent years of your life tracking the Avatar, but she never said you found him!"

"That is because I found him years after Yenna stopped speaking to me. And even if she wasn't angry with me she still wouldn't know, I haven't told anyone."

"Anyway" continued Zhuirro, "I found the Avatar, but he is not a waterbender."

Again Maran was confused, it felt as if Zhuirro was purposely trying to puzzle him. "But you just said that I was right, that the next Avatar _was_ born into the Water tribe!"

"She was. A year after Huran died she was born in the north, but she was killed less than a year later. My best guess is that the next Avatar, who would have been born to the earth kingdom, died or was killed at an early age too, probably ten or eleven.

"But that would mean… the Avatar is a firebender?" asked Maran.

"Yes he is" replied Zhuirro, "and he has been living in this camp for ten years."

Maran's jaw dropped.

"What?!" he asked, dumbfounded.

Zhuirro smiled. "You asked me ten years ago why I decided to stay with the circus after bringing Pama and her kids. I didn't answer you then, but now you know. I stayed because I found the Avatar. My own grandson, Reyam."

"This is crazy" Maran said, running a hand through his short brown hair "I'm finding this whole thing rather hard to digest."

Zhuirro frowned. "Are you implying that you think I am lying?" he asked, a dangerous edge entering his voice.

"No, No!" said Maran quickly. "I know you must have ways of identifying the Avatar, you were a Fire Sage after all. It's just… well isn't it too much of a coincidence that after spending twenty years searching for the Avatar, that you would find out he is your grandson?"

Zhuirro nodded. "I thought as much myself. I have a theory, but now is not the time. Can I trust that you will make the necessary arrangements to travel to Taku?"

"But why could you possibly need to go to the northern earth kingdom?" Maran asked, ignoring Zhuirros attempt to divert the conversation.

Zhuirro seemed dissatisfied. "You are not a stupid man" he said, in no way trying to give his son in law a compliment. "No simple man could have created this financial empire out of nothing. And yet you still ask stupid questions to which you could find the answer if you only took a moment to think!"

Maran was used to the way Yenna's father patronized him, he ignored it. Instead, he did as he was told and thought.

Finally, something seemed to click, and everything made sense.

"It's not the northern Earth kingdom that is important… you want us to head for the Air temple!"

Zhuirro gave a nod.

"Has he mastered firebending already?" Maran asked.

"Yes. His Firebending training is coming to an end. Never have I taught a student as powerful and talented as the boy. It is almost time for him to move on."

"So you will tell him too?" Maran knew he was pushing his luck by asking another questions.

"When the time is right, I will let him know. In the meantime, I will let my grandson enjoy his last few months as a carefree youth. There is nothing he can do to help the world while he is less than half-trained, so I will not burden him with the knowledge till I must."

Zhuirro rose to his feet, Maran doing the same a second behind him.

"I trust your judgment father" he said finally, "I will make the proper arrangements so that we may leave for Taku before the end of the month."

Zhuirro put his hand on Maran's shoulder, surprising the younger man.

"Thank you" he said. For a moment it seemed as if Zhuirro was going to say something else, but the moment passed, and Zhuirro removed his hand from Maran's shoulder, before turning and leaving the tent.

 _I need a drink_ sighed Maran as he watched his father in law walk away.

…

"So you did know!" said Reyam accusingly.

"Briefly, but yes, I knew, not that it made any difference." Maran shrugged.

"But how did he know?" asked Reyam.

"That I cannot answer, for he never told me. After that night we never spoke of it again."

Reyam opened his mouth to ask another question, though it was hard to choose which one from the thousands that were tumbling around inside his head. Before he could say anything else though, he was cut short by his uncle raising his hand to stop him.

"I know you want to ask more about this, but I have told you all that I know. I want to move on to what is really important, and that is the events of last night" Maran gave him a meaningful look, to which Reyam nodded.

"From what you told me, it seems that right about the time you were attacked by the airbenders the rest of the camp was attacked by a raiding party of earthbenders. It was much larger than some of the other groups we have had to defend the camp from in the past, which is weird because usually we hear rumors about a militia in the area…" Maran tugged on his short graying beard thoughtfully.

"That's why nobody came to help me" realized Reyam, ashamed of the resentful feelings he had felt towards his circus mates.

"Exactly" said Maran. "Kai only showed up because he saw the fires and was afraid the camp was being attacked from the other side as well."

"Yeah, well its lucky he showed up when he did, otherwise I wouldn't be here right now" muttered Reyam. "What about the third airbender? What happened to him?"

"I don't know" said Maran. "Until you told me your story a moment ago I had thought there had been only two airbenders. That's what Kai told me."

"Kai only saw two. I got the first one before he showed up" answered Reyam.

Both men sat quietly for a few moments, contemplating.

Reyam broke the silence. "Uncle, there is still something I do not understand" he said. Maran nodded for him to continue.

"How is it that three airbenders, who were clearly not masters, managed to kill Grandfather, one of the greatest firebenders alive?"

"I don't know, Reyam" answered Maran. "It must have been some sort of treachery. Something about this whole affair seems odd. It's like they wanted to get to you where you didn't have help…"

"But who uncle? I thought you said you and grandfather were the only people who knew I am the… Avatar." It felt strange for Reyam to say that out loud.

"I don't know… I don't know…"

They fell back into silence.

"Was anyone else hurt?" Reyam remembered to ask. He was getting tired again, his thoughts growing foggy.

"Just a few minor scrapes and bruises, nothing major. We managed to drive them off pretty soundly, except…" Maran trailed off.

"Except what?" said Reyam, staving off his exhaustion for a few more moments.

"Well, by the time we finished fighting, the fire had spread throughout the whole camp. Everything burned. Every tent, every piece of clothing, every everything." Maran's face became haggard as he said that.

Reyam was too tired to answer, though somewhere in his mind a piece of himself went numb with shock. _The whole camp, burned? I started the fire, didn't I? This all my fault…_

"We are all meeting tomorrow morning to decide what to do next" said Maran, standing up and patting his nephew on the shoulder. "Hopefully you will feel good enough to join. But now it's time to sleep."

Reyam tried to nod agreement as his eyelids slid closed and his head sunk back into the feather pillow. He was asleep by the time his uncle shut the door on his way out.

* * *

 **Sorry this chapter took a while, but I hope your patience has paid off, since it's pretty long. Lots of explaining going on, hopefully we will get back to some action soon.**

 **As always, I welcome reviews.**


	5. Chapter 4

The next morning found the members of "White Lotus" sitting among the ruins of their camp. They were waiting in the wide clear circle that had been created by Reyam while in the Avatar state during his fight with the airbenders.

The last to arrive were Maran, his wife Yenna, her sister Pama, and Pama's daughter Nyata. The three women were in tears. They had just performed a small parting ceremony from Master Zhuirro. Sadly Reyam was still too weak to attend the ceremony, and instead lay frustrated, up in the mayor's manor.

Traditionally a firebender's body was cremated after death in a fire lit by his closest kin, firebenders or not. This practice was known as the Last Honor.

Pama and Yenna had not had the chance to give their father this final goodbye. Zhuirro's body had burned completely before the circus members and villagers had managed to put out the fire. Their only condolence was that the Last Honor had been granted to Zhuirro, after a fashion. As Maran pointed out, it was Reyam, his grandson, who had started the fire.

Maran and his family entered the clearing and the members of the circus quieted down. They had waited two tense days while Maran decided the future of the "White Lotus".

Letting go of Yenna's hand, Maran turned to the small crowed of expectant faces, preparing to deliver the most difficult speech of his life. Next to him his wife and sister in law sat, sobbing mutely into each other's shoulder.

Maran didn't have the heart to beat around the bush. He got right to it.

"A great tragedy has befallen us," he began, "in the murder of our friend and master Zhuirro." There were some melancholy nods from people in the crowd, and also an angry fist or two.

"I know there has been speculation, amongst circus members and villagers alike, about what happened here two nights ago. I am here to let you all know exactly what happened" _Or at least what they need to know_ thought Maran to himself.

"While we were attacked by the earth benders on the other side of camp, a number of airbenders snuck into this side of camp" said Maran, gesturing to the wreckage around him. "Here they somehow managed to surprise Zhuirro and kill him."

There was a lot of confused and skeptical muttering from the crowd.

"Do not ask me how they managed it, we all knew Zhuirro's strength, for I do not know." The crowd quieted down again.

"Zhuirro was not the only person they met on this side of camp" and he launched into the tale of what he had pieced together from Reyam the night before. A few of the members asked questions throughout, but they were mostly silent, taking in all the information. Maran was careful to frame the tale to make it seem that the fire was the airbender's fault, rather then Reyam's.

"Kai was then attacked by the remaining bender, and he was forced to fall back. That's when Reyam…" Maran knew that this was what everyone was waiting for. He could hear an audible intake of breath from the crowd.

"That is when Reyam bended other elements than his fire".

Some of the previous skeptics looked shock, others gave knowing nods, the rumors confirmed.

"Did you know Maran?" asked Barand, the old story teller.

Maran nodded, slowly.

"I knew for a short time , though I kept the information to myself at the request of my father in law. Zhuirro seemed to think Reyam was in danger, a fact which seems to have been confirmed…"

Maran trailed off, not really knowing how to continue. The members of the circus were quiet, digesting all the new information, waiting for Maran to continue.

Finally, when the silence stretched long and awkward Pao took the initiative, prompting Maran. "What's to happen now, Maran?" asked the burly elephanthorse trainer.

Maran shrugged uncomfortably. "I guess Reyam will go to the Air temple to continue his training as the Avatar. That seems to be the reason Zhuirro asked me to travel north this spring."

"But why must Reyam leave?" piped up Nyata, Reyam's younger sister. "Why can't he train here in the circus? We have airbenders! They can teach him." The ten year old set her mouth stubbornly.

Maran shook his head sadly.

"With all due respect to our talented acrobats, none are master airbenders capable of teaching the… the Avatar on the level he needs."

Maran looked at the group of young airbenders, genuinely interested if any disagreed with him. Unsurprisingly none did.

"But why would we trust these northern airbenders?" interjected Musella, one of the singers. "They attacked Reyam!"

"We don't know that it was them Musella" answered Barand. "There are plenty of airbenders in the world, no reason to think it was the monks."

"This close to the air temple? Please, no airbender in their right mind who isn't affiliated with the temples would get so close to them now days" said Larette, Musella's sister.

"Oh so we aren't in our right mind are we?!" sneered Samoya "Wundo, Cho, Ayana and the rest? Are you going to mistrust us now too? "

"That's not-! I didn't-"spluttered Larette, a little red faced.

"Peace" said Wundo, the oldest of the airbenders in the circus, shooting both girls a calming look. "We don't know for certain that the airbenders have nothing to do with the temple, but it helps to know that they were not dressed as monks." Before they got a chance to respond he rolled right on." I also happen to know that Zhuirro was a friend of the Abbot of the northern temple. If you had been listening carefully to Master Maran you will have noticed that it was the firebending master who asked to travel here. It must be for that reason. I trusted Zhuirro. That will not change now.

Duma, the short earthbender, was shaking his head. "That 'friendship' brought him to his death! How could you think it was a coincidence? No airbender could've bested him. It must have been treachery. It must have been the monks!"

"We still have no proof of that. They could have surprised Zhuirro when they attacked the circus" said Barand, but everyone could tell even he didn't believe that.

"So what do we do? we cant send Reyam to the temple, and we cant keep and train him here at the circus" mused Fiore, the old fortune teller. "maybe we could travel to a different air temple? I hear the eastern temple is-"

"NO!" screamed Ayana, and she burst into tears, falling to her knees.

Cho quickly moved over to hug Ayana, shooting Fiore a nasty look. Fiore in turn looked abashed "Ayana, I didn't mean it like that I..."

This whole discussion broke Maran's heart. it proved that they were not just members of the same circus, they were family, and everyone cared for Reyam like a son or a brother. it made what he had to do now that much more difficult.

"The circus" said Maran, drawing everyone's attention back to him. he couldn't stand to put it off any longer. he felt really haggard.

"I'm sorry to tell you all, that the white lotus is no more." He said it quickly, not bearing the pain. "Between the fire and the earthbending raid, I have lost everything. My chest of gold was stolen, the animals were killed, and all the tents burned to the ground as you all noticed. I have no means of paying any of you for your special talents. And I cannot ask you to stay on for free. So this, I fear, is where we all must part ways." His voice cracked at the last.

The members of the circus were not surprised. They had been discussing the topic for the last few days, and all knew that Maran had no other options. Hearing Maran say it though… that was hard. Every single member felt his pain as he finished his speech, and every single member identified with it.

"Zhuirro wanted Reyam to learn airbending here in the north. I for one do not believe those airbenders were monks. I cannot fathom a reason the peaceful monks would attack an old man and a boy. Since there is no way they knew of Reyam's nature, they must have been common thieves taking advantage of an earth raiding party. They got unlucky… but you can depend on me to see that Reyam will be seen to the air temple unharmed. He is my nephew after all."

Maran stepped down, going to hug his wife. The members of the circus began dispersing, talking to each other in small clusters. Pikka limped up on to a pile of wreckage and shouted.

"WAIT!"

Everyone turned around, surprised that the quiet old waterbender raised his voice.

"I'm sorry Maran, but you are wrong. The white lotus may be finished as a circus, but it is not dead yet." He shook his head sadly. Everyone crowded back together. Pikka was a very well respected member of the circus, and everyone wanted to hear what he had to say.

"The way I see it, we have a responsibility. The world thinks the Avatar is gone. I hate the fact that the circus must break up, but if it is so, let it not be for nothing. We are all returning to our old homes across the world, and with us we bring a message:

The _**Avatar**_ is back.

The world has a new hope. A hope for peace and balance- Reyam!"

There was a lasting silence. No one spoke. It was as if all the members of the circus held their breath. It was just like Pikka to understand the bigger picture and its implications.

Slowly, Maran nodded thoughtfully.

"You are right Pikka." He conceded.

"We may be finished as a circus, but the white lotus shall live on as a herald to the Avatar. We will spread word of his return across the land. When needed we will offer him guidance and shelter."

The circus members looked intrigued. This was big, bigger than any of them, and it was fascinating.

"If this is to work, we will need a more formulated plan" called out Wundo, the middle aged airbender looking like he was already forming one.

"You're absolutely right my friend" said Maran. "Pikka, Wundo, Pao, Run, Zuma and Barand,"he called, picking out the most influential of the circus members, "come with me to the Mayor's house. We will come up with something more concrete. The rest of you may stay or go as you will, and I thank you all for your long years of dedicated work. Those who choose to stay will help turn this disaster into an opportunity."

...

Finally the gathering was over. Kai had listened quietly to the whole thing from the back. He did not believe as Maran did. Too much coincidence. Airbenders kill Zhuirro and attack Reyam where he is alone and no one can come help, forcing him to do… whatever it was he had done, reveiling himself to be the Avatar? Nope. Didn't seem like chance. How could Maran pretend it was?

Kai had to see what Maran really thought, and for that he had to find a way to sneak into that meeting.

Kai knew the mayor had a daughter about his age. A cute brown haired girl who had made calf eyes at Kai during his entire performance when they had just arrived. Kai had picked up on it immediately and that had led to some harmless teenage fun later that night. Kai hoped Lizi would help him now.

He sprinted to the Mayor's house ahead of the circus members. Just as he was nearing the house he saw two air monks dressed in dark green and cream colored robes drop from the air, landing with a 'whump' sound as they snapped their staffs closed.

"Hello child" said the elder one in a grave voice, his wrinkled skin giving his arrow tattoos a faded look. "Do you by chance know where I can find the one named Reyam?"

Shit.


End file.
